OpenGL 1.2 for AIX: Reference Manual

About This Book

OpenGL Programmer's Reference provides reference information on the OpenGL application programming interface (API).

This publication documents the functional interface of:

OpenGL 1.2 (first introduced in AIX Version 4.3.2)
GLX 1.3 (first introduced in AIX Version 4.3.2)
GLU 1.3 (first introduced in AIX Version 4.3.3)

It also documents several OpenGL extensions supported on AIX.

Applications/users should query OpenGL to determine if the extension is supported (glXQueryExtensionsString, glGetString, and gluGetString) prior ro making extension specific OpenGL, GLX, or GLU calls.

Further information is also avaiable in /usr/lpp/OpenGL/README on your installed AIX system.

Who Should Use This Book

This book is intended for programmers with C programming knowledge who want to develop 3D applications.

Before You Begin

Having a basic understanding of the concepts of computer graphics makes this book easier to understand. An introduction to computer graphics can be found in one of the following books:

Foley, James D.; van Dam, Andries; Feiner, Steven K.; and Hughes, John F. Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice, Second Edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1990.
Rogers, David F. Procedural Elements for Computer Graphics. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1985.
Hearn, Donald; and Baker, M. Pauline. Computer Graphics. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1986.

For conceptual, procedural, and tutorial information on the OpenGL API, refer to the following book:

OpenGL Programming Guide, order number SR28-5126.

How to Use This Book

In general, each chapter begins with basic information and progresses to more advanced topics. On first reading, advanced topics may be skipped.

Overview of Contents

This book contains the following chapters:

Chapter 1, "OpenGL Overview," describes the OpenGL structure and function.
Chapter 2, "OpenGL Subroutines," describes the basic OpenGL subroutines.
Chapter 3, "OpenGL Utility (GLU) Library," describes the utility subroutines available to provide additional functionality.
Chapter 4, "OpenGL in the AIXwindows (GLX) Environment," describes the subroutines that support the use of OpenGL with AIXwindows.
Chapter 5, "OpenGL Drawing Widgets and Related Functions," describes the drawing widgets available in OpenGL.

Highlighting

The following highlighting conventions are used in this book:

Bold	Identifies commands, subroutines, keywords, files, structures, directories, and other items whose names are predefined by the system. Also identifies graphical objects such as buttons, labels, and icons that the user selects.
Italics	Identifies parameters whose actual names or values are to be supplied by the user.
`Monospace`	Identifies examples of specific data values, examples of text similar to what you might see displayed, examples of portions of program code similar to what you might write as a programmer, messages from the system, or information you should actually type.

Related Publications

The following books contain information about or related to OpenGL Programmer's Reference:

OpenGL Reference Manual, order number SR28-5125.
OpenGL Programming Guide, order number SR28-5126.
POWER GXT1000 Setup and User's Guide, order number SA23-2070. This book contains information on XINIT routing; the X server EXPORT command parameters associated with the POWER GXT1000 adapter; and an explanation of POWER GXT1000 visuals which ties the adapter hardware buffer features to OpenGL visuals (including 8-bit buffering, stencil buffering, and z-buffering.)
AIX Version 4.3 General Programming Concepts: Writing and Debugging Programs, order number SC23-4128.
GL3.2 Version 4 for AIX: Programming Concepts, order number SC23-2612.
GL3.2 Version 4 for AIX: Graphics Library (GL) Technical Reference, order number SC23-2630.